Pirate Beat Down… By the French??

When President Woodrow Wilson made his famous speech at the Paris Peace Conference he made a pledge for the world to open its doors to the thought of a global system of security and freedom.  One of his 14 points advocated the need for open seas in which all countries could be assured of the protection of merchant ships traveling in international waters and through territorial seaways.  For almost 90 years the seas were open and welcome to any merchant ship traveling abroad securing the function of free trade and international commerce.

However, the freedom and security of merchant ships traveling in international waters has come under recent threat from a band of Sudanese pirates.  Both German and Greek shipping companies have paid large ransoms, some in the millions, for the recovery of oil tankers and cargo ships worth in the hundreds of millions.  These Euro countries set the bar for these pirates and propelled them to continue terrorizing ships off the coast of Sudan.

French Navy Captures 11 Sudanese Pirates

Then they attacked an American ship and the game changed.  Last week four Sudanese pirates raided the Maersk Alabama and took Capt. Richard Phillips hostage.  After days of negotiating between the terrorists and the American shipping company, the White House gave orders for a daring rescue mission.  The Navy Seals assassinated the four pirates and grabbed the captain without skipping a beat. 

In response to the killing of four of their peers, the pirate gang captured four vessels within 24 hours of the American captain being rescued.  Now it comes out that the French have detained 11 of these pirates in a raid on one of their mother ships.

My question is this: Why are the French, of all people, taking action against this terrorist group when America’s foreign policy is determined to combat global terrorism.  The answer can be found by taking one look inside the oval office at the administration running the show. 

Yes, President Obama gave the go for an offensive to rescue Capt. Phillips, but is he going to turn his back and walk away?  Considering the four pirates that took control of the American ship made their move on a rubber dingy, it is clear how pathetic the scale to which they operate on is.  Why don’t the Americans station a couple submarines in the area and torpedo these dinghies to hell.  This is just one case where, at the very least, Obama could easily pass a resolution through the UN to grant international naval assistance to secure the area for merchant ships.  But once again, Obama plays the middle ground waiting for these pirates to strike again.